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#119: Choosing the right translation — Which short?

26 June 2007, 9:41 AM by Keith

Below is a helpful how-to-guide to aid you in expressing the word ‘short’ in Italian. Remember, that ‘short’ in English can be a noun, adjective, adverb and even a verb. Below are some common Italian equivalents (remember, this list is not all-inclusive, just meant to be a guideline):

  • Adjectives
    • corto
      -when describing the length of something, except height
    • breve, corto
      -when describing time
    • basso, piccolo
      -when describing height
    • breve
      - to describe something that is brief, concise
    • scarso
      - under a requirement amount of something
    • brusco, spiccio
      -       short, when the meaning is abrupt, curt
      (i.e. He was very short with me on the phone)
    • abbreviato
      -       as in abbreviated
  • Adverbs
    • bruscamente
      - can mean curtly, but also short in the sense of suddenly.
    • corto
      -       as in, not going far enough
      as in: I threw the rope, but it landed short.
  • Nouns
    • i pataloncini
      short pants
    • il boxer
      boxer shorts
    • il cortometraggio
      short film
    • il cortocircuito
      electrical short
  • Verbs
    • cortocircuitare (transitive)
      to short(-circuit) something
    • formare un cortocircuito (intransitive)
      to short(-circuit)

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